Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%.

In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Graduate School, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career.

Family firms are crucial to the economies of most countries and are far from being a minority. However, research into family firms has only recently entered mainstream entrepreneurship, management and business research. As with other fields, research into family firms relies on theory-borrowing from neighbouring fields to develop insights into the uniqueness of family firms versus non-family businesses, and differences among family firms themselves. In this research, we seek to break new ground by examining family multinational businesses. From existing treatments, we expect family firms to carefully choreograph their internationalization, maintaining a very high ‘fidelity’ between the parent firm and their international satellite subsidiaries. But, this fidelity may well be a ‘bad thing’ or represent a constraint if the subsidiary is prevented from adjusting to its new location. Family firms are likely to aim for much higher fidelity than nonfamily firms to maintain consistency with family control and traditions. However, this is not clear-cut because fidelity itself should ensure that capabilities are transferred accurately from parent firm to sibling subsidiary – a problem that has been at the heart of international business theorizing for decades but the answer to which has remained elusive.

UK Masters degree (with average programme mark of no less than 65%) or International equivalent. English Language requirement of IELTS band 7.0 or above with not less than 7.0 in each component.

Funding information:

The studentship provides a tax free stipend of £14,777 per annum for the duration of the studentship plus tuition fees at the UK/EU rate. International (non EU) students may apply however the total value of the studentship will be used towards the cost of the International tuition fee.

A 500 word personal statement explaining your interest in, and aptitude for, the topic of this research project. In particular we would like to learn about what qualities do you feel you can bring to the project.